SPOILER - Kanthrop Awakening

[Brytan]

Ok, this thread will be about the initial threads all players starting a Kanthrop char will have to go through. Ofcourse the thread will be different per player and/or player group, so I'll just be putting some ideas down here, for people to comment on.

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Again, if you plan on playing a kanthrop, you might wanna stop now to not spoil the fun!!!

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Now, correct me if I'm wrong. But as I see it a player will need 5 stars to raise from Basic to Journeyman in experience. So as I see it, it would require 5 considerable writing efforts to advance a player to Journeyman Inner Animal.

I'm also assuming that the trials leading to Awakening are a culmination of years and years of training, meditation, guidance and education about the ways of the Kanthrop. This would balance out the speed with which we allow the Kanthrops to advance in their first steps into Tazlure. Ofcourse, after Awakening, the speed with which they can increase their Inner Animal skill would drop to a regular pace, taking into account the Journeyman level, meaning it will be harder to raise than basic over the course of the game.

Ok, to facilitate the show of roleplaying and writing skill needed to advance to the appropriate level of Inner Animal, to be awarded the Polymorph [Kanthrop] skill, and also to give potential future mods dealing with Kanthrops some insight into how to handle training of Kanthrops, and what it takes to raise Inner Animal, I've set up this overview of "trials" they can/must undergo in order to get in touch with their Inner Animal and become polymorphers.

Let me reitterate that, no matter the content of the thread, leveling this skill is always a roleplaying matter, never a matter of "use".

Trials and Tribulations

1. Gathering - Basic gathering trial. For the festivities of the Awakening ceremony to be held after the fact, the players must gather items x,y and z in location a. Along the way having to utilise such skills you would find animals using, foraging, scavenging, searching. All in a natural surrounding.

2. Hunting - See above, only this would involve the hunting of mundane animals, particularly in the Gnilwoh forest, the Skymyst mountains and Paw lake. The relation to their animal side is apparent.

3. Meditating - A large part of getting in touch with the animal spirit within them will involve subconsious communication with this spirit. Showing in character that they are connecting with the spirit might awaken it, showing shreds of its ability in times of dire need (these revelations can also come about as a result of fear, stress, anxiety, anger or any other primal emotion, linking to the bestial nature of the spirit). As mods you can determine what best fits the mood of the thread and the steps needed to contact the spirit, based on the animal chosen. A wolf will have different responses to things than an eagle.

4. Dreaming - In my vision the Aether will play a prominent part in the Awakening process. Especially in the first few days of the trials (with threads extending over a period of several days Tazlure time, or split into a thread per day) the characters will become more and more aware of the spirit inside them. They will always have felt its presence ofcourse, but with the trials and the rush that comes with it (covering lots of ground, difficult terrain and deadlined assignments) this will be enforced, in their sleep aswell. Moderated Aether threads might help to swiften their Awakening and, if played well, might even warrant a star.

5. Fighting - Combat is one of the better ways to bring out the beast in a person, be they Kanthrop or not. This combat can be with a predetermined prey or adversary (you go to that cave and slay beast x to get his hide for the festival offering) or within the group of companions. It might be a random event, mods should feel free to make those judgements, but there should be at least one good combat scene involved in the trials.

6. Communing - with the Inner Animal can be done through meditation, in dreams, with mundane animal representation, whatever makes the character more aware of their potential. This is not a specific trial goal, but should happen over the course of the Awakening threads.

Now, as you may have noticed I have refered several times to the "group". I find that, should the situation lend itself to it, that players should be running their trials in group threads. This will make it more fun for everyone, make it easier on the mod and also create ample opportunity for the characters to develop themselves in a social setting. This should also improve the roleplaying aspect and leave lots of openings to trigger the Inner Animal skill for the mod. However, for the sake of management and time delays it might be best to limit the group to three players per Awakening thread max, with one global event to celebrate after each of the players has reached their Awakening.

Look at it as your run of the mill teen screen adventure movie: Group of like-minded (or not so) individuals head off to unknown peril, facing their impending adulthood in the process, one arriving at it sooner than the other, with all of them pulling through in the end.

Comments, ideas, suggestions?